


Home and the Holidays

by screamingsongbird16



Category: Joker Game (Anime)
Genre: Fatherly Yuuki, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:40:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screamingsongbird16/pseuds/screamingsongbird16
Summary: Yuuki has a mission for Hatano this Christmas.  But there's both more and less to it than meets the eye.





	

aLIvE-verse compliant

 

 

* * *

 

 

            The round of poker came to a pause when the cafeteria door opened, revealing Lt. Colonel Yuuki.  While it wasn’t unusual for their boss to stop in from time to time while they were playing, either to pour himself a drink to take back to his office, or even grab food, the spies always did pause to acknowledge him.  Not in a gawking “What are you doing here?” kind of way.  But not in a too rigidly respectful way either.  None of them wanted to have to pay the fee for acting too military.  So they acknowledged their boss with nods, or the occasional raised glass, or sometimes just with a brief smile.  Usually Yuuki only barely acknowledged them, and didn’t do anything to further stall their game.  But this evening, his agenda was a bit different.  And the fact that he was carrying a file made that clear.

            “Hatano.”

            Hatano immediately set down his cards and perked up, his eyes flitting eagerly to the folder, then back to Yuuki.  “Yes, Yuuki-san?”

            “You have an assignment.”  Yuuki shifted the folder, very slightly in his hand, which was all it took for Hatano to be up, out of his seat, bolting forward to take the file, like an eager puppy.

            The others knew exactly why Hatano was so eager.  Since coming home from France, Hatano’s assignments had been few and far between.  Unwilling to risk him taking another hit to the head, after receiving so many successive head injuries in France, Yuuki did his best to keep Hatano out of harm’s way.  Most of his assignments were ones where the risks were minimal, like sitting in on the interrogation of the British spy, Aaron Price.  Or incapacitating those guys from Wind Agency, who Yuuki had rated with an extremely low threat assessment.  The Germany mission had been the major exception.  But now that Hatano had been home for a few weeks, and the others were trickling back in . . . and getting new counter espionage assignments almost immediately, if they weren’t overdue for reconditioning, Hatano had been starting to get antsy again, and they all knew it.

            “An assignment?  For me?  Yuuki-san, you shouldn’t have,” said Hatano, grinning as he practically snatched the folder from Yuuki, then spun around in a circle once, joyously.  “It’s Christmas!”

            A soft laugh from Miyoshi drew everyone’s attention to him.  He raised one hand and gave an elegant little wave, as though to wave aside their attention.  “It actually is almost Christmas.  In fact, it’s Christmas Eve.  So, tomorrow, when you go on your assignment, it will, in fact, be Christmas.”

            “What is Christmas?” asked Sakuma.  As always, the least informed person in the room.

            “A holiday celebrated by much of the Western world,” Jitsui told him.  “Gift giving is a traditional part of it.  But somehow I don’t think Yuuki giving Hatano this assignment has anything to do with him being religious.”

            “Or does it?” Hatano asked.  Then he smirked cheekily at Yuuki and touched his fingertips to his forehead, then to his chest, then to his left and right shoulders in quick succession.  A gesture that much of the Western world would recognize as crossing himself, but that only Jitsui seemed to understand the significance of, since he was the only one who giggled at it.

            “And how do you know Hatano’s assignment is tomorrow?” asked Sakuma, deciding to prioritize his questions, based completely off of what he thought was most relevant.  The dark narrowing of eyes that Yuuki directed Hatano’s way had absolutely nothing to do with Sakuma deciding not to press that line of inquiry further.  Nothing at all.

            “Why else would Yuuki-san be giving it to him at this time of night?” Odagiri replied.

            “The assignment is classified,” said Yuuki, turning a dry look on his spies, warning them against further prying.  Because he knew they’d grown somewhat lax about keeping information to themselves, as they’d grown closer to one another.  And he knew he should mind that more than he actually did, just out of principle.  They were spies.  They were supposed to be solitary creatures.  Yet they had an undeniable bond, that Yuuki himself had intentionally fostered, knowing what sort of possibilities could be opened up if he was in charge of a group of spies who trusted each other.  Some would say that he had opened the door to trouble.  Because if one of them turned on D-Agency, they likely wouldn’t see it coming until it was too late.  And before meeting these men, Yuuki would have agreed, that was a very valid reason not to do what he’d done.  But it was too late to second guess his decision now.  What was done, was done.  And so far, he’d only reaped benefits from it.

            But for now he needed to put a lid on their antics.  Hatano himself would not even be getting the full details of his mission.  And Hatano would know as much, as it was implicitly stated in the file Yuuki had given him.  And he knew that Hatano would be constantly trying to figure out the real purpose of his assignment.  Hatano was very good at figuring things out.  Too good.  But Yuuki had every confidence that he wouldn’t be able to figure out the true purpose behind this mission.  The real reason for Yuuki putting him into this role would never even occur to him.  But to the others . . . any of the others would have a much easier time figuring it out.  Hence the reason to keep it classified. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

            Hatano excused himself from the poker game, as soon as Yuuki-san left the cafeteria.  And it was actually just poker.  Not Joker Game.  Kaminaga and Amari had yet to make it back home from Germany, and without a few more people it was hard to get a good game of Joker Game going.  Especially since Miyoshi was still so weak from his mission’s complications, and went to sleep far earlier than he used to.  Not that Hatano had room to complain.  He was mostly better, but every now and then a lingering complication from his head injuries hit him in the form of exhaustion.

            He hadn’t been up for too long today, however, so there was little risk of an exhaustion episode now.  Hatano would have played it safe and read up on his mission before he could get tired enough that he was at risk of getting struck by exhaustion, even if he wasn’t so eager for this assignment.  But he was very eager for this assignment, and it was pointless to even try to hide that.  Trying would just be a lost cause.  The others all knew just how much Hatano wanted to get back into the field.  Tagging along with their physical reconditioning, as much as Yuuki-san allowed was a bit of a giveaway since most people didn’t willingly swim in the ocean during the winter, or try to sprint a whole kilometer.  But Hatano wanted to stay fighting fit and keep his athletic edge, so that if Yuuki needed him, he’d be ready.  And he was ready now.  Whatever Yuuki-san was asking of him.  Though he knew that it wasn’t anything too strenuous, just because Yuuki was insisting on babying him because of his head injuries.

            Hatano skipped upstairs to the dorms to grab a blanket off his bed, then headed down to the lounge.  The fire was lit there.  It was always lit at night, during winter, to keep their power bill lower, and make it so that it wasn’t obvious to anyone who went and snooped at the power company, that people lived there fulltime.  And while the fire wasn’t exactly enough to keep the whole building warm, it did keep them from freezing.  And the lounge was always nice and toasty.

            Hatano settled himself down in front of the fire, wrapped the blanket around himself, then opened the file and started reading.

            As expected, it was a simple, completely un-dangerous assignment.  But not completely uninteresting.  His role . . . was the young teenage grandson of the owner of a small trading company.  He was estranged from his grandfather, mainly because of his parents, who were angry at his mother’s father for not giving them money whenever they asked for it.  Recently, he had begun going behind his parents’ backs to meet with his grandfather, and was getting to know him.  Their ritual was to meet up at restaurants.  The restaurant where he would be meeting his grandfather tomorrow was named in the mission notes.  Hatano knew the general location of it, though he’d never been there before. 

            From the looks of things, this wouldn’t be a one time deal.  There were enough details for Hatano’s role that he could tell he’d be making repeat performances.  Most likely to the same restaurant, since a diagram of the restaurant’s floorplans was included.  Which meant there was someone or something of interest there.  Yuuki didn’t specify what.  So either Yuuki-san wanted him to figure it out on his own, or it was above Hatano’s clearance level.  Well, it didn’t really matter if it was the latter.  Hatano was going to figure out what it was on his own anyway.  He never shied away from a challenge. 

            He continued pouring over the details of the file, committing each one to memory.  Where he went to school, what classes he took, and what he was good at.  Many point of reference details.  But there were relatively few directives for how he should play his role.  That surprised Hatano.  Normally Yuuki would give some indication of how he wanted him to act.  If there was time to, at least, which there definitely was now.  The last time Hatano had played the role of Yuuki’s grandson, there hadn’t been time, and Hatano had to make up his role’s characteristics on the fly.  Maybe this was Yuuki’s way of saying he’d done well enough then, that he trusted Hatano to do well this time?

            Well, whatever his reasoning, Yuuki-san clearly was leaving it up to Hatano.  So, after he finished reading everything there was in the file, Hatano began thinking about the best way to go about playing his new role.  This character named Tachiban Shiro who he was to play.  There were many ways he could go about it.  But right from the start, Hatano saw one major question that needed to be set in stone.  Was Shiro sincere about wanting to get to know his grandfather?  Or was he a conniving little money grubbing brat, out to ensure he inherited something?  Obviously if he was a gold digger, he would be trying to hide it.  But would slip up on occasion, to give himself away to the right people.  People Yuuki wanted to think ill of him.  And he’d slip up by asking the wrong questions.  Being a little too greedy.  And always letting his grandfather pick up the check.

            But there was no guarantee that was how Yuuki wanted Hatano to play the role.  He might instead want someone like Namika Sho.  The last role where Hatano had played his grandson.  A respectful, loving grandson who, when given reason to believe his grandfather had collapsed, sprinted up and down the length of the ocean liner they’d been traveling on in panic, trying to find the infirmary, then practically collapsing on the floor, out of breath and shaky, once he did find it.  Hatano . . . didn’t hate that role.  If he was completely honest with himself . . . he’d enjoyed being Namika Sho.  In that role, Yuuki had been a stern grandfather, but a caring one.  And when Namika Sho had been in danger . . . Grandfather Namika had flipped the fuck out.

            Hatano smiled at the memory.  That was one of his best memories.  Even though he knew Yuuki-san had been acting.  Yuuki had just been so believable.  He’d had people cowering and rushing to do his bidding, cringing away from him, and giving him a very wide berth when he carried his “unconscious” grandson away from the crowd, back to the privacy of their cabin.  He’d acted so well, if Hatano hadn’t known better, he’d have thought Yuuki really did love him.  He knew it was a little twisted of him, but Hatano would have happily stepped back into the role of Namika Sho.

            And a part of him wanted to build his new role exactly like Namika Sho.  A very large part of him wanted that.  But Hatano couldn’t help but feel like Yuuki wouldn’t approve.  If only because Yuuki wanted them to be different people every time.

            So, something different.  Actually, now that Hatano thought about it, it would probably be better to have two roles created.  One a gold digger, pretending to be sincere.  The other genuinely sincere about trying to get to know his grandfather. 

            The gold digger persona couldn’t be too smart.  Since he had to give himself away.  So for his gold digger persona, he actually needed a second role.  Who the gold digger was pretending to be, and who he actually was.  And while he could use the basis of his sincere role as the mask for the gold digger’s role, Hatano found that he didn’t want to.  He quickly decided it would be best to keep the two roles as separate and distinct as possible.  That way, when he decided on which one he needed tomorrow, he could slip into it more definitely, and not have to worry about traces of the spare role showing through.

            The next few hours were spent crafting new personalities, then going over them carefully.  Then, Hatano read over the folder of information once more to make sure that nothing in either of the roles he’d built for himself contradicted with any of the official details.  Only once he was satisfied that everything he’d come up with was sound, did Hatano close his folder and call it a night.  He added some more coal to the fire, to make sure it kept burning until morning, before heading upstairs to the dorm, taking his folder and fire warmed blanket with him. 

            The others had finished up their poker game and called it a night early, Hatano saw.  They were all in bed when he made it up to the dormitory.  Except for Miyoshi who was still sleeping in the infirmary, on the ground floor, to save him from flights of stairs and to keep him warmer, closer to the fire.  But everyone else was up here, in bed.  If any had been asleep, they woke up when Hatano entered and the door squeaked as it always did.  Jitsui was the only one who could get the door open without it squeaking, and he refused to share his secret.  Even with Hatano. 

            Hatano walked into the room quickly, knowing they’d all recognize his steps, and the familiar creak of the floorboards under his weight.  He shut the door behind him, then walked softly, almost soundlessly, to his own bed, so he could put his folder into his foot locker.  Then he went to Jitsui’s bed, and crawled in, under the covers, bringing his fire-warmed blanket with him. 

            Jitsui immediately latched onto him, the moment he tucked the covers underneath himself, to keep out the cold.  Because Jitsui hated the cold.  He shivered all night during the winter, if he didn’t have someone to share body heat with.  That was how he and Hatano had first started this arrangement of sharing sleeping space.  And things had gone from there.  Now Hatano awkwardly maneuvered his fire-warmed blanket so that it covered both of them, beneath the sheet and top covers, so the warmth was sealed in as close to them as possible.  Jitsui was no help, deliberately tangling himself up with both the warm blanket and with Hatano himself, as Hatano tried to cover them both, making Hatano’s work more difficult.  But finally, the blanket was suitably distributed, to keep them nice and toasty.  Only then did Hatano wrap his arms around Jitsui, as Jitsui nestled in as close to Hatano as he possibly could, to leach as much heat as he possibly could.  Then Hatano pulled the top covers over both their heads.  They had learned from experience, that if they spoke in the softest of whispers, beneath their blankets, the others wouldn’t hear them.

            “Miss me?” Hatano teased, very, very quietly.

            Jitsui nodded rather than verbally answer, then asked a question of his own.  “Good mission?”

            Hatano nodded back.  “Interesting mission.”

            “I’m glad.”

            “Me too.”

            There wasn’t much more to say.  Jitsui knew full well Hatano couldn’t give away details.  Wouldn’t give them away even if Jitsui asked.  But Jitsui wouldn’t ask. 

            “Good luck,” Jitsui said softly, closing his eyes.

            Hatano pulled the covers back down, so their heads weren’t covered, then fussed with them a little so that the top cover was pulled up around Jitsui’s head like a hood, leaving his face uncovered.  “Sleep well,” he whispered, then closed his own eyes.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

            Hatano met Yuuki in the restaurant five minutes before the appointed time.  He still wasn’t sure which of his created roles he’d be going with, but decided that being early worked for both of them.  If he went with his sincere persona, then he obviously was anxious to see his grandfather again.  If he went with the gold digging one, then he was trying to get on his grandfather’s good side, for the obvious reason. 

            He was not surprised to find, upon his arrival, that Yuuki-san was already there.  Since Yuuki’s role clearly wanted to spend more time with his grandson, now that they were finally talking.  The hostess, who informed Shiro that his grandfather was waiting in a private room, smiled so happily at him, that Hatano concluded she had to be someone Yuuki had spoken with multiple times during his visits to this establishment.  Hatano catalogued this under interesting and potentially useful information before greeting Yuuki-san.

            “Grandfather.  Hi.  I’m sorry.  I hope I haven’t made you wait long.”

            Yuuki smiled at him.  And it was a different smile than Hatano had been expecting.  Less deluded old codger, and more shrewd.  But also with genuine affection, despite his wariness.  This . . . wasn’t what Hatano had been expecting at all.  He’d assumed Yuuki would be playing his role differently.  Like an old man who, even if his grandson was a gold digger, would do his best to look the other way about it, because he wanted to be with him so much.  But this felt almost exactly like Namika Sho’s grandfather.  And that role . . . protectiveness aside, was very similar to how Yuuki treated him normally.

            Hatano felt a momentary surge of panic as he realized neither of the two roles he’d prepared would be suitable for this assignment now.  Not when Yuuki was using this sort of personality for his role.  The gold digger role was completely out.  Yuuki’s role was too sharp to tolerate him.  And now Hatano felt stupid for even thinking to create that role in the first place.  Surely, if that was how he should have built his role, Yuuki would have mentioned something.  Likewise, his other role, the sincere, slightly hesitant role, but genuinely affectionate role was also out.  It . . . could work.  Hatano did know he could pull it off, but . . . before long he’d start making Yuuki’s role look almost like a bully.  Or else force Yuuki to break character and make exceptions for his grandson’s lack of spine and intelligence.  Yuuki wouldn’t appreciate that, Hatano was sure.  Which meant Hatano would just have to improvise.  Which wasn’t anything he hadn’t done before, even if he did feel a bit rueful about all his planning from last night being for naught.  He could have gotten a few extra hours of sleep.

            Hatano’s panic subsided, almost immediately as he decided on his new role.  A role he already knew how to play.  Because he kind of had been playing it since he entered D-Agency.  Even he himself had a tendency to forget, at times, that Hatano was actually a role.  He was sure some of the others probably thought that he’d always acted that way.  But before throwing away his old life . . . he’d had been a very different person.  Hatano was the person he’d always secretly wanted to be.  And Hatano was nearly a perfect fit for the role he needed to play now.  Turn down the cheekiness just a smidgen, stop pushing the lines to see if he could get away with it, and he had a nice, prebuilt role to fall back on.  The kind of grandson who would nicely compliment the Yuuki-like role Yuuki-san was currently playing.  Someone who would rise to the challenge and wasn’t so meek that his grandfather would have a hard time respecting him.  Playful, but polite enough when he needed to be.  Someone who kept Yuuki-san’s life interesting, and at times, even made him smile.

            “Grandson,” Yuuki greeted Hatano, as he motioned for him to sit.  “Welcome.  I only just arrived myself.”

            Hatano turned to the hostess and flashed one of his top shelf smiles.  “Did he really?  Or is he lying to me?”

            The hostess nearly laughed.  Her eyes lit up and she raised one hand to her mouth, to smother a giggle, which many in their rigid society, would have found inappropriate from someone whose rank was little more than a servant’s.  Her willingness to go this far meant that she was on familiar terms with Yuuki-san.  Or at least his role.  And that he had treated her nicely in the past.  Hatano glanced at Yuuki and caught him smiling genially at the hostess. 

            Interesting.

            “Your grandfather only just arrived a minute ago,” the hostess lied to Hatano.  Hatano smiled as though he’d been fooled, then sat down.

            “It’s good to see you again, Grandfather,” said Hatano, giving Yuuki one of his usual smiles, but letting a little extra affection show through his eyes.  But funnily enough, not even that was an act.

            “It’s good to see you too, Shiro,” said Yuuki.  “I hope you didn’t have trouble making it here?”

            “No trouble,” promised Hatano.  The hostess was leaving, but still able to hear them.  “My parents are busy preparing for the new year.  As long as I’m not making trouble, they don’t mind so much if I’m coming or going.”

            “So you’re staying out of trouble?”

            Hatano smiled cheekily.  “Depends on your definition of trouble.”

            They made small talk.  It was a bit awkward, but they did that deliberately, to play up their role as family members who’d never really gotten the chance to know each other, finally seizing the chance . . . but just not being completely sure about the other.  But wanting it to work, very much.  And though normally Hatano disdained small talk, with Yuuki-san, it wasn’t so bad.  Because with Yuuki, you always had to stay on your guard.  He kept you sharp, and made you constantly stay on guard so that you didn’t accidentally say anything stupid.  It was almost like they weren’t even acting.  Or at least not playing any roles other than the normal roles they always played.  They could have been back at D-Agency, in Yuuki-san’s office, bantering . . . well, not really bantering, more like . . . discussing things with a healthy dose of challenge or cheekiness involved . . . over a plate of sweets and a couple cups of coffee.  Hatano had discovered that Yuuki-san actually had a sweet tooth.  At least he thought he’d discovered that.  There was always the chance Yuuki didn’t actually have a sweet tooth, and was just pretending to have one to mess with him and make him think he knew more than he did, which Hatano wouldn’t really put past Yuuki at all, because one of Yuuki’s confirmed hobbies was messing with peoples’ heads, and making them think they knew things that they didn’t. 

            But since Hatano had allegedly discovered that Yuuki liked sweet things, he’d set aside a few of whatever desserts he made, every time he made something.  Then took them up to Yuuki-san’s office, usually with a pair of mugs, and a full French press of still steeping coffee, and then spent time talking with Yuuki as Yuuki ate his sweets and they drank coffee together.  Much like they were doing now.  And if Hatano had begun making desserts more often, no one could prove it was because he wanted to spend time with Yuuki.  Because that wasn’t the reason!  He just wanted to stay in practice with his cooking.  There were so few people in Japan who could make a decent pate choux or puff pastry from scratch, and it might be useful sometime for if they needed to place him undercover at a restaurant.  Hatano was very confident in his ability to act in the role of a mildly psychotic, prideful chef who’d studied in Paris and had the skills to back up his psychosis.  Or they just might need some fancy desserts whipped up sometime, to switch out some at a party and put drugs inside to knock someone out.  And there were plenty of other scenarios Hatano could think up for why they would need someone with good dessert making skills on the team.  And though Fukumoto was an excellent cook, when it came to desserts, he was several steps behind Hatano by anyone’s count.  And more than several by Hatano’s own count.  So really, anyone who said Hatano was only making desserts so often because he wanted to spend more time with Yuuki-san clearly didn’t have a clue what they were talking about!

            But all that aside, the act Hatano and Yuuki were putting on now was still remarkably similar to the way they acted on those evenings back at D-Agency, when Hatano made dessert, and Yuuki took a break from his work to eat what Hatano brought him and drink coffee with him.  Hatano actually found himself struggling to not forget that he was in a role.  And that not only was he acting, but he should also be trying to find clues as to what they were really doing here.

            There weren’t many hints to what the mission actually was.  Hatano did his best to pay attention to every detail of the place but . . . there was nothing sketchy on the surface.  No suspicious individuals passing by their room, or stopping in, under the guise of entering the wrong room.  The restaurant was actually pretty quiet.  Hatano couldn’t even hear chatter from the other rooms.  Nothing suspicious stood out about the staff either.  No hand tremors or other signs of drug usage, no nervous ticks.  The only thing of note was that the hostess did make a return trip to their room to ask how they were doing.  Politeness? Hatano wondered.  Or something more.  She was a pretty woman.  Not quite old enough to be Hatano’s mother, but old enough to have children.  Though Hatano didn’t think she did.  A lot of little signs pointed to her being single.  Not the least of which, was her obvious interest in Yuuki-san.

            The food was good.  Despite it being wartime food.  With the military taking the best of the country’s foodstuffs to feed their troops, restaurants were being hit hard.  But this one was making do despite that.  Initially, Hatano wondered if that was reason for suspicion, but after close inspection of their food found nothing resembling human meat.  Which was always a good thing.  He supposed something could be going on behind the scenes to secure more or better quality ingredients, but after tasting it, he didn’t think that was the case.  More of some ingredients had been added to replace others that were missing.  The dishes had just been balanced well.  Whoever made the changes to the recipes had known what they were doing.  And there was nothing intrinsically suspicious about that. 

            When the time came for them to pay the check, Yuuki picked it up.  There was no discussion about it.  Hatano didn’t even bring it up.  Because providing a meal was something perfectly natural for a grandfather to do for his teenage grandson.  And since, presumably, Shiro had gone to meet his grandfather several times behind his parents’ backs now, they should be falling into a pattern.  Yuuki’s role was not one who would accept his teenage grandson being the one to pay.  Something about him made it seem like playing the role of a provider was something he’d been missing.  Which meant paying for their meal now, was truly Yuuki-san’s pleasure.  Or Yuuki-san’s role’s pleasure.  Hatano mentally winced at how easily he was getting Yuuki confused with his role.  Both their roles were so scarily close to how they usually acted around one another.  Maybe it had been a bad idea to do this.  To choose a role so close to how he normally acted.  But Hatano didn’t care.  Tonight had been enjoyable.  Almost like what he thought it would be like to really have a grandfather.  And maybe it was unprofessional of him to get so lost in his role but . . . well, Hatano just didn’t care. 

            “Thank you, Grandfather,” Hatano said, as their change was returned to them.  By the hostess, rather than the waitress who’d taken Yuuki’s money to the register.  He smiled as sweetly as he could, as an inkling of what this assignment might really be about occurred to him.  “I’m really happy that I was able to spend time with you again.”

            Yuuki smiled back at him in a way that made Hatano’s heart feel like someone was squeezing it.  And he heard the hostess draw in her breath sharply behind him.  “You’re welcome, Shiro.  It makes me very happy to spend time with you as well.”

            With his back to the hostess, there was no one but Yuuki to see Hatano give his boss his spy smirk.  And he saw a miniscule, almost invisible gleam of alarm light in Yuuki’s eyes at the sight of Hatano’s smirk.  Right before he flung himself at the older man and hugged him tight.

            “Can I see you again soon, Grandfather?” Hatano asked, resting one cheek against Yuuki’s chest, because Yuuki was far too tall, and Hatano was too short to really be in any other position in this hug.  But having his head in profile to anyone behind him, like that, made for a much more appealing picture.  The hostess was probably fighting off a nosebleed.

            Yuuki let his hand settle atop Hatano’s head, and hugged him back with his other arm.  “Yes.  We’ll do this again soon,” promised Yuuki.

 

 

* * *

 

 

            Yuuki thought that the evening had gone rather well.  It had been enjoyable for him.  If Hatano had been bored, he’d given no sign of it.  Yuuki was fairly sure that Hatano had a good time as well.  He’d probably spent the evening overanalyzing everything, and trying to figure out what they were really doing there.  But at least that had kept him entertained.  And the food was good.  Yuuki wouldn’t have taken him somewhere with poor quality food.  Not for this.

            He and Hatano parted ways, outside the restaurant.  Hatano had looked around warily, like he was worried about being seen by someone who might recognize him, just as his role should have, before bowing low and respectfully to Yuuki, the way a grandson normally would bid his grandfather goodbye in public.  Yuuki had half expected Hatano to hug him again, even though a display of affection like that in so public a place would have been considered a bit uncouth.  But that may have just been because he was determined not to be taken by surprise a second time.  Hatano hugging him the first time had been a surprise.  Because the role Hatano had taken on for this assignment had been extremely close to his normal persona.  Cheeky and quick on the uptake, but not overly affectionate.  Not how Yuuki would have expected him to act, considering his role, but not a bad surprise either, by any means.

            He took the long way back to D-Agency.  Less because he was concerned about having a tail that he’d need to throw off, and more to have time to just . . . think.  When he arrived back, he could tell Hatano had already returned, and been home for awhile.  Warm, buttery, sugary scents were wafting out of the kitchen, and Yuuki heard soft laughter, and quiet voices.  Hatano’s voice, and Jitsui’s.  He couldn’t say he was surprised.  Those two had become closer.  Closer than Yuuki would prefer.  They both knew it too.  Yuuki heard their voices go silent as he walked through the halls, using his cane, which made his steps recognizable from a great distance. 

            He didn’t go in and speak with them.  He had no reason to tonight.  Since the mission had been classified as beyond Hatano’s clearance levels, he would not be discussing it with him further tonight.  Hatano knew there would be no debriefing and would not seek Yuuki out unless he had anything important to tell him on the mission, like if he’d been followed after leaving the restaurant.  Or unless he wasn’t sick of Yuuki’s company, and decided to share whatever dessert he was cooking.  And after spending all evening in Yuuki’s company, Yuuki thought that was a bit much to hope for.  The best that he could likely hope for was for Hatano to maybe stop by and drop off some sweets at Yuuki’s office without staying to talk, as he’d been doing lately.  Ever since Jitsui had come back from his undercover mission.  Yuuki wouldn’t be speaking with them about their relationship either.  At least not tonight.  As long as they both continued to conduct themselves professionally enough outside of D-Agency, he would not intervene.

            So Yuuki continued on to his office.  Only in the privacy of his own office, with no one to see, did he let any weariness show.  He sank into the chair behind his desk and rested his head in one hand for a moment to wonder . . . about a great many things.  Perhaps it was pretentious to think that his concerns weighed heavier on him than the average person’s on them, but the average person didn’t have to worry about international politics, and all the idiotic mistakes their country was making in its warmongering, including refusing to even accept the need for an intelligence agency, and what that meant for the young men they’d trained as spies, young men who were essentially the closest thing they’d ever have to sons, because they’d sacrificed the greater part of their life for their mission.  A mission they’d now begun to wonder whether their sacrifice had been worth. 

            A knock on the door jolted Yuuki out of his thoughts and he quickly dropped his hand and abandoned any semblance of weakness.  “Enter.”

            The door opened and Hatano stepped inside, his usual cheeky smile on his face.  In one hand he held two empty coffee mugs, hooked by the handles with his pinky, while the rest of his fingers were wrapped around the handle of a full French press of coffee.  In the other, a plate of odd looking, sandwich cookies, a pale green color the likes of which Yuuki had never seen before.

            “Coffee?” Hatano asked, raising the French press.

            Yuuki nodded and Hatano stepped inside, shutting the door with his foot, then walking to the desk, to set down his burdens before fetching the spare chair, and moving it so he could sit opposite of Yuuki.  Yuuki looked pointedly at the two mugs, then met Hatano’s eyes.

            “Not spending tonight with Jitsui?”

            Hatano didn’t blush, but Yuuki was able to pick up a very slight amount of discomfort in his mannerisms.  “Jitsui’s tired from his physical reconditioning.  He’s going to bed early.  He warmed some blankets by the fire to keep him warm for an hour or two.  I don’t know why we never thought of that before, now that I think about it.  Macaron?”  he offered the plate up to Yuuki.

            Macarons.  French sandwich cookies.  Now that Yuuki had basis for what they were, he could see it.  But that still didn’t explain the color.

            “Why are they green?”

            “Worried I’m trying to poison you, Yuuki-san?” asked Hatano, and snagged one to pop in his mouth.  “I tried experimenting with what we had on hand for flavoring.  I used green tea.  I’d say it turned out quite well.”

            Yuuki took a macaron then, not that he’d even considered Hatano was trying to poison him before.  He took a bite and found that he had to agree with Hatano.  The green tea did make for good flavoring.  But rather than compliment the boy, he fixed him with a look.  “Did you not get enough to eat during dinner?” he asked curtly.

            “I did.  But that was over an hour ago, and I’m a growing boy.”

            Yuuki snorted.  Hatano glared at him and puffed out his cheeks defiantly.  That was almost enough to make Yuuki laugh out loud.  Something he almost never did.  But he managed to keep a stoic expression on, as Hatano finished pressing the coffee and poured them both a cup.  Then he passed Yuuki’s to him and looked at him with uncharacteristic seriousness.

            “Yuuki-san?”

            Yuuki acknowledged the question by raising his head just slightly.

            “I wanted you to know I figured out what tonight’s mission, if you can really call it that, was really about,” Hatano said, and his eyes bored into Yuuki’s.  Yuuki had never seen him look more serious.  And Yuuki felt a cold stab of fear, because Hatano was not supposed to know.  He shouldn’t have been able to figure it out.  Not this quickly . . . But one of Hatano’s greatest strengths was that he was constantly underestimated.  His small stature and his baby face made everyone dismiss him as a threat.  Yuuki thought he was above falling into that trap.  No, he knew he was.  Hatano should not have realized –

            “You were just using me to make that pretty hostess fall even more completely in love with you,” accused Hatano, his serious expression melting away, replaced by pure cheekiness.  “You sly dog.  Sir.”

            Yuuki stared at him, for a second in complete shock.  And then he barked out a laugh.  He couldn’t stop himself.  That was what Hatano had concluded from the evening’s outing?  Or perhaps he was just teasing?  It was impossible to tell right now.  Yuuki had to struggle too hard to get his reactions under control.  And meanwhile, at the sound of his laugh, Hatano’s whole face had lit up, like a child’s when he was given a gift.  It was a very good thing, Yuuki thought, as he forced his expression back into a stern one, that he hadn’t been taking a drink when Hatano made that accusation.  He would have ended up spitting his coffee all over Hatano.  Then Hatano would have had evidence.  Right now it was a tossup whether or not the others would believe him if he chose to disclose that he’d made Yuuki laugh.

            Yuuki glared at him with more sternness than he was honestly feeling.  “I trained you better than that.”

            Hatano wilted comically.  “You’re telling me that I’m wrong?”

            “That, and reminding you that everything about this assignment is classified.  Your inane theories do not give you the right to declassify this assignment and gossip about it with your peers, on pain of a court martial.”

            Hatano smirked.  “Now I know I’m onto something –”

            “I am not joking, Hatano.  Nor am I threatening.  Only reminding you of what you already well know,” said Yuuki.  Which was the truth.  If he ever had to threaten his spies with a court martial, the truth would be that he would have already lost them.  But that aside, this mission . . . had been a personal one.  Hatano had been right about that.  And threatening to court martial him of all people over it would be stupid and hypocritical.  But reminding him of what he already knew . . . that was the kind of deception anyone from D-Agency would have appreciated.

            Hatano took Yuuki’s words at face value.  He continued smirking, but he also backed down.  “I know, Yuuki-san.  I was joking.  I don’t really think you took me on a mission just to help you get a girl.  Mostly because you could have definitely gotten her without my help.  She wasn’t exactly subtle about her interest in you.  Hey, did I give her a nosebleed when I hugged you?”

            “Very nearly,” Yuuki said, and damn but if it wasn’t hard to say that and keep a straight face.

            Hatano laughed.  Then sipped his coffee.  “I actually didn’t manage to figure out anything of importance.  This time.”

            “Do your best.” Yuuki said that dryly, believing he knew the parameters that Hatano would interpret that line in.  So he was surprised when Hatano’s hand jerked slightly, spilling a little bit of his coffee over the edge of his cup.  Because of what Yuuki had just said?  Or another reason?

            Hatano quickly pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned himself up.  Only a few drops of coffee had spilt.  And onto his hand, and pants, though against the dark fabric, it was almost impossible to see.  “Sorry about that.  I guess I’m more tired than I thought.  I should probably go to bed.”

            Yuuki’s eyes narrowed in concern, and he had the feeling he should know why Hatano had reacted that way just now.  Like there was something he should remember.  He didn’t believe Hatano had really just lapsed into clumsiness, right after Yuuki spoke.  Hatano and clumsiness only went together if there was a head injury or drugs thrown into the picture.

            “Should I leave the coffee, Grandfa- er, Yuuki-san?” Hatano asked.  Giving himself away, even more, by being so flustered.  But rather than blushing and falling further into a downward spiral, Yuuki saw the heave of Hatano’s chest as he took a deep breath in an effort to regain his equilibrium. 

            “Leave the coffee,” said Yuuki.  “Yours too, if you don’t intend to drink it.”

            Hatano nodded and set his mug down on the desk.  “And you like the macarons alright?”

            “Yes.  Flavoring them with green tea was inspired.”

            Hatano beamed.  Then gave Yuuki his usual cheeky smile.  “Thank you, Grandfather.”  The use of that name was deliberate this time.  Even though they weren’t in any roles.  But it wasn’t said mockingly.  And this wasn’t the first time by any means, that Hatano had referred to him as “grandfather” outside of a mission.  It had been a running . . . not really a joke, more of . . . an affectionate lark.  One that Yuuki himself had actually been the one to start, after they’d gotten home from France, and Yuuki had given in to the indulgent urge to call Hatano “grandson” one last time.  He hadn’t thought Hatano was awake.  Or that he’d respond by calling him “grandfather,” if he was.  And especially not that it would be something Hatano would continue.

            Hatano didn’t know how close he was to being right, when he’d accused Yuuki of bringing him on a personal mission.  He just hadn’t been able to see that he himself was the personal mission.  Just like Yuuki knew he wouldn’t be able to.  Yuuki had never been above using underhanded tactics to get what he wanted.  And what he’d wanted now . . . was to be self-indulgent just a little more, and hold onto that feeling of having a family.  He didn’t think doing so was emotionally detrimental to Hatano.  And while he couldn’t be positive, he liked to think Hatano felt the same way.  Like Yuuki himself, Hatano had never really had a family . . .

            “Sleep well,” Yuuki told his student.

              _“Joyeux Noel, Grand-pere,”_ Hatano said, smiling sweetly, too sweetly, before making his way to the doorway and twisting around to wave before departing.

            Yuuki spoke at the last moment he possibly could before Hatano closed the door.  “Merry Christmas, grandson.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Notes: This turned out to be longer and later than I intended.  Sorry about the latter.  But hopefully no one minds the former. :P  For it being late . . . well, it’s still Christmas in Hawaiian time, lol, so technically it’s not _too_ late.  So, Merry Christmas.  :)

 

Oh!  Also, in case you need an even bigger Joker Game fix to feed your addiction, I would like to announce that the unofficial Joker Game fanzine that Jimmi was organizing is now out!  And I promise you, it’s amazing!  It’s a free, downloadable fanzine, with almost a hundred pages chalk full of drool-worthy, feel-inducing Joker Game content, contributed by 23 different writers and artists.  It’s got pictures, sculptures, and fanfiction, some really fun articles that give you historical perspective about the era Joker Game is set in, with some bonuses, like recipes for invisible ink, and another recipe for the signature “Asia cocktail” which was served on the train Tazaki took in his mission.  Then there’s a crossword puzzle, and a code game with a chance to win a grab bag of Joker Game goodies straight from Japan.  You can download it off Jimmi’s tumblr page at: <http://i-dedicate-this-kill-to-the-fans.tumblr.com/post/154896619359/double-agent-a-joker-game-fanzine>. 

 

Please keep an eye out for the two fics I contributed.  “Itterasshai,” featuring lieutenant!Odagiri and hurt!Tazaki, and “This Plan of Yours,” which stars Hatano, though all our boys make an appearance. :)

 

 

 


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